We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The TripAdvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.

First time in Mexico

Just returned from a two centre holiday, the first being Royal Hideway. This is a very upmarket resort for couples only The accommodation was good, clean and comfortable. The service was excellent and the staff very accommodating. There were ample loungers on the beach and round the pool. There were two quieter pools and most days you could be the only ones there. There were very pretty grounds with lots of water features. The mosquitoes bothered us but not everybody. The restaurants were very upmarket with attentive staff. The small bar under reception was the best place to gather for a pre and post dinner drink. No complaints at all, maybe having to make reservations all the time was a bit of a bore. We had a candlelight dinner on beach (part of our package) and the service was excellentMore

Show less

Stayed: March 2013, traveled as a couple

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Ask thepalmers9 about Royal Hideaway Playacar

2 Thank thepalmers9

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Guadalupe S, Director General at Royal Hideaway Playacar, responded to this reviewResponded October 31, 2017

Thank you very much for sharing this great review of your recent stay at Royal Hideaway. We are thrilled that you have enjoyed your stay and certainly agree that our dedicated staff plays a key role to our guests' overall experience. The entire team works very hard to ensure that we deliver a high standard of service and a warm, memorable experience. We thank you for pointing out the cleanliness of our installations, being fully aware that this is an aspect of primary importance for our guests to feel comfortable in our hotel, our housekeeping staff undertakes a thorough cleaning of our installations and rooms on a daily basis. Again we thank you for this very kind review of our hotel and we look forward to serving you again in the future.

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Best resort I have ever been. The limited number of guests, the setting, the cordial and professional personnel and the infinity of options available for every service possible, from in room dining to the different restaurants, make it a pearl of the Caribbean. The four restaurants available for dinner rewrite the concept of all inclusive resort as the impression will be of dining in a classic restaurant. It will not be long before earns a Michelin star. If you are up for an incredible experience try the Chef's Table. I thought I knew my food but the twelve course meal prepared by Chef Villafana in front of us in the kitchen have opened a new universe to my appreciation of cuisine. His ability to use typical mexican ingredients in an innovative key is simply surprising. We were treated like royalty every day. Everything was taken care of and everything was thought of in the minimum detail.Hopefully we will be coming back soon.

Room Tip: the rooms in the houses located towards the beach are probably the best ones. The resort to the right hand side facing the sea has music until midnight and this may not be appreciated by light sleepers but in my opinion it was totally acceptable.

Stayed: April 2013, traveled as a couple

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Ask 391lorenzob about Royal Hideaway Playacar

4 Thank 391lorenzob

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Guadalupe S, Director General at Royal Hideaway Playacar, responded to this reviewResponded October 31, 2017

Thank you for sharing your feedback on your recent holiday experience among us, our main goal being to ensure we keep on delivering unforgettable holiday experiences to our guests, your comments are crucial in this process therefore we highly value your time and constructive criticsOn the other hand we thank you for pointing out the kindness and enthusiasm of our staff, their friendliness and helpfulness being our hotels’ main strength we will definitely congratulate them all on your behalf for their contribution to your wellbeing whilst staying among us. At Royal Hideaway we know that meals are an important aspect of our guests' overall holiday expérience in our hotels, this is why our team of Chefs prepare for each service a wide variety of delicacies to cater for all diet requirements and please the most demanding palates, we are therefore very pleased that we could satisfy yours. Thank you again for this heartwarming review of your stay with us, we look forward to your next visit.

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My husband and I stayed at this resort in the Spring of 2012 and had a wonderful time. We decided to go back this year even though I usually like to try new places, and we were not disappointed. This hotel is fantastic- beautiful, amazing service, wonderful food and drinks, quiet and romantic. One word of advice- reserve the restaurants ahead of time. Last year we read someone's review and booked the first few nights ahead of time, and then when we got there we reserved the rest of the nights, but this year we had some issues. Again, I e-mailed ahead of time and made reservations for the first two nights, but when we got down there it was Saturday evening, and on Sunday morning we tried to make reservations for Monday through Thursday nights, and almost everything was booked. Our concierge said they would do what they could, but it was a lot of hassle and checking back in, and I was frustrated with the process. Each building is serviced by one concierge, and they seem to only be there about 3 hours a day, and no posted times, so you have to keep going back to try to catch them. When I talked to the concierge at the front desk about our problems with the restaurants, he told me I would need to work directly with our building concierge, which we were trying to do but having some trouble. They said the problem is that each restaurant can only take reservations up to a week in advance, but once they open up, they fill up really quickly for the peak dinner times. Anyway, it all worked out but I had to express a little frustration before they seemed to take it too seriously- they kept saying they could get us in at 6 p.m. or 10 p.m., but that was not an acceptable dinner time to me, and we were trying to be flexible by saying we could go to any of the restaurants each night- we just wanted to eat at each restaurant once. My recommendation is to e-mail ahead of time to book for a reservation each night, and keep in mind they can't book more than a week in advance, so you might have to e-mail back a few times leading up to your arrival to get it all worked out- it would definitely be worth it to do it up front so you are all set when you get there. The food is wonderful so you want to try each of the restaurants. The casual one is Spices and is our least favorite- they have excellent service at every restaurant but we just didn't like the menu options that much at Spices for dinner. But the Grill's dinner is amazing, as are the Italian restaurant, which is called Palazzo, and the signature restaurant, which is called Las Ventanas, and the Asian restaurant, which is Azia. They are all delicious and have great service and lots of delicious options. The lunchtime food on the deck by the pool is delicious too. The staff at this place go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome- they are so friendly and so helpful. My husband went out on a fishing charter on our third day and caught a mahi mahi, and he brought some of the fish back to the resort and they helped us out and prepared it for dinner for us at Las Ventanas- it was amazing. They also prepared mahi grilled sandwiches for us at lunch the next day at our request- if you catch any fish, bring it back with you and go straight to the poolside restaurant and talk to the manager- they will organize it all and they are wonderful. The only complaint I have for the entire week except for the reservations issues was that on the day before we left, a large corporate group arrived, and they were having a poolside dinner and so half of the pool was unavailable starting at 1 p.m., and then they took away the rest of the deck chairs at 4 p.m. to make way for the preparation. I personally find this frustrating- it's fine to have corportate events or weddings, but I don't believe you should be able to take away amenities from the rest of the paying guests to accommodate that party. Anyway, regardless of this, I would go back again. This resort is beautiful, the food and drinks are great, and the staff is wonderful. My husband and I just got home yesterday from an amazing 6 days and wish we could go back tomorrow!

Stayed: April 2013, traveled as a couple

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

>

>

>

>

Ask ecwaugh about Royal Hideaway Playacar

4 Thank ecwaugh

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Guadalupe S, Director General at Royal Hideaway Playacar, responded to this reviewResponded November 15, 2017

Thank you for sharing your feedback on your recent holiday experience among us, our main goal being to ensure we keep on delivering unforgettable holiday experiences to our guests, your comments are crucial in this process therefore we highly value your time and constructive criticsOn the other hand we would like to thank you for your kind words towards our staff, especially regarding the réception. As all of them work very hard, striving to surpass guest expectations, we will definitely pass on your satisfaction with their services. They will surely celebrate that you wrote that they were very nice and most helpful.Once more we thank you for choosing our hotel for your holiday and very much look forward to having the opportunity to serve you again in the future.

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

The resort was good, rooms, pools, room service, employees, food.It was a very quiet resort with very little entertainment in the eves except for the one bar with duet singers and Latin music. No swim us bar, although the employees were very attentive in the service.The most uncomfortable thing was the reservations needed for supper each night.There was no places to go for supper except formalwear for guys, long slacks in each restaurants or room service. It was funny because we'd made reservations for suppers and there were lots!!!! Of empty tables in all the restaurants each night.So if you like formal and quiet---- this is the place for you.

Room Tip: We asked for and paid for ocean view and were on the first floor---- view of bushes!!!!

Stayed: March 2013, traveled with friends

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Ask Linda J about Royal Hideaway Playacar

1 Thank Linda J

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Guadalupe S, Director General at Royal Hideaway Playacar, responded to this reviewResponded November 15, 2017

First and foremost we would like to thank you for the praising review you shared following your recent visit to our Roytal Hideaway hotel and are delighted to read that we were able to match your expectations. Thank you for your very nice compliments for our team, they do work very hard every day to make sure our guests feel well attended to at all times and definitely are an asset to our hotel. We will certainly relay your praising comments to all of them and we are sure they will be pleased to know their efforts have been appreciated.Thank you again for choosing our hotel on this occasion and for the courtesy of your time, even though we understand that this was not the best fit for your travel party, therefore we strongly encourage you for a future occasion to contact our call center from where our agents will be able to give you all the relevant information to make sure that you book the Barceló hotel that can make all your holiday wishes come true.

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Stayed here with 2 friends at the beginning of March, our first time to Mexico. Comfortable room and pretty well kept grounds. Managed to get bookings for food when we wanted and visited every restaurant. My husband needs a gluten free diet and we were well impressed with the service received in every restaurant. The Asian was particularly impressive as a complete meal was produced by the chef, off menu! No worries about sun beds on the beach - plenty of space! The staff were very attentive and friendly and we enjoyed the low key trivia evenings and live music. We have stayed at many hotels around the Caribbean and the Royal Hideaway is definitely a place we will be revisiting. It hit the spot for relaxation, great food and good service!

Stayed: March 2013, traveled with friends

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Ask fairbankredds about Royal Hideaway Playacar

3 Thank fairbankredds

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Guadalupe S, Director General at Royal Hideaway Playacar, responded to this reviewResponded November 15, 2017

First of all, we congratulate you with your Silver Wedding Anniversary and we thank you for choosing our Royal Hideaway hotel for such a special occasion.We take a lot of pleasure in making each of our guests' visits "fantastic", especially when it comes to special occasions. Moreover, we thank you for your kind words towards our staff, we are glad to hear that they all contributed to your wellbeing whilst staying among us, from the housekeeping team, doing their utmost to guarantee spotless accommodations and installations at all times, our entertainment team with their enthusiasm and energy, inviting our guests to take part into the lively sports and leisure activities throughout the day and our Mini Club team, with their kindness and professionalism taking care of our little guests and ensuring that they have a nice time and bring back home good memories of their holidays among us. Again we thank you for this very kind review of our hotel and we look forward to serving you again in the future.

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

It has been 6 years since our first stay at RH. Back then the beach was gone due to a hurricane but it is back and better than ever! This is the nicest beach of all the resorts we've stayed at in the Riviera Maya, including The Grand, Secrets Maroma, Secrets Capri, Excellence. You can walk along the beach to Playa del Carmen in 20 minutes easy. From there just walk up the street and you are at the start of their 5th Ave(check out casa del agua, great restaurant). The resorts on either side of RH are livelier with a bit younger crowd. Our resort felt like an Oasis after walking along those resorts. The beach itself has tons of water sports going on all day.

Within the resort, the atmosphere is very calm and relaxed. The grounds are small and beautiful. The service is fantastic! Most of the resorts provide great service but RH is a cut above, in my opinion. The food is the best of all the resorts we have stayed at. I know with each trip I tend to go back and forth about which All Inclusive has the best food, but this second visit easily confirms RH status as #1. FYI, the Chef's table was one of the best food experiences I have had to date and worth the extra $$.

Some things that make me question the value for money is our room(2324) which needed a new tub as this one was cracked and stained and just looked bad. The door jamb to the toilet also had a hole near the bottom that needed repair. The rest of the room was very nice though, with excellent air conditioning. I also found the mini bar lacking in selection. I've seen better stocked mini bars in huts! For what they charge I expected lots of water, juice, pop and to be asked what our preferences were upon check-in.

One final suggestion. At last years resort, The Grand, their wine list had a decent selection of included bottles on the first page and Extra charge bottles on following pages. RH wine list only offers Extra charge bottles(which were ridiculously overpriced) and included wines by the Glass. The RH red wines by the glass were Merlot and Cabernet sauvignon.. very limited. At least offer a lighter Red wine by the glass, such as a pinot noir style, for guests who don't like Cab's and Merlot's. For the money you pay, they should really offer several(3-4 reds, 3-4 whites) included wines by the bottle at dinner for guests who don't drink other types of alcohol.

Having said all of this, I still consider RH the best All Inclusive in the Riviera Maya. Address the above suggestions and I may never try another AI again!

Safe travels!

Stayed: March 2013, traveled as a couple

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Ask steve247 about Royal Hideaway Playacar

5 Thank steve247

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Community M, Gerente at Royal Hideaway Playacar, responded to this reviewResponded December 21, 2017

Dear Steve247,

We first would like to thank you for choosing our hotel for your holidays in Playacar and for sharing your comments on your experience among us.

Our guests' comments provide us with an opportunity to see our hotel through their eyes giving us insight into any service that may have room for improvement to enhance our future guests' stay among us, therefore we are grateful for the time you spent to share a review of your personal experience in the hotel.

We hope you give us the opportunity to welcome you to the hotel again soon.

Warmest Regards!

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.